Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-05-18
GOV. ROSS ANSWERED.
LHsOpen Letter InserrOgatiOng the
Chief Executive.
Facts ConcsEping Maine, Iowa, Rhode ISL
aud and Kassas-The Interna; Reve-
nue. License Argument Exploded
and ProhfhAtion indicated.
Hon. L. S. Ross, Govemorof Texas:

upon the ruler of the people, to review
your open letter to Mr.. Gibbs,sit would
seem appropriate to dose now.
While the individuality of the Governor
is never lost in Official position, YET the
Official position makes you the Governor
Of Probibitionists, as well as of anti
ProaibitiOnists.
What private man speaks carries only
the weight CT his intrinsic worth. But
what a higl official Utters carries all the
weight borrowed from the dignity and
sanctitY Of the Office.
Because of your official relation to all
the people, and because your private
views on the pending amendment were
already known TO ali men, some of your
friends nave thought it unseemly for you
TO throw the WeIgnt OF your official posi-
ton against this amendment, which the
publication Of your letter most certainly
does. It's influence upon the public mind
Will not stop at It's Intrinsic, individual
worth, but will be more mighty as coming
from the Governor Of Texas than from L.
S. Ross. In precisely this direction the
opponents Of the amendment are using it
for alI the word governor is worth.
IL these days of civil service reform,
the idea gains ground among the people
that it is not wise to use cffic,ai position,
the heritage If all me people, &c carry
measures that are favored by only part
of the people. THIS idea is stronger
where the office is higher Moreover, the
odds against the prohibitionlstS were al
ready appaling-uOt indeed, as to un-
biased pC~uler judgment, but in the awful
power of shE liquor tratiiC-its terrible
organization and its unlimited control of
money. 1t is reported that even eX-GOV-
ernOr Roberts thought IL not wise, on &C
count of mis- relation to the State Uni
versitY to use that official position against
the amendment.
But while thousands of your friends
g-ieVe that you have thought it necessary
20 write this letter, we will let that pass.
You have written it, and what you have
written, you have written.
You nave lent to the whisky interests
al the power Of the gubernatorial name.
Il has made YOU solid with them. Your
letter will be used as their chief campaign
document. They will trade largely upon
the Governors name. And now that it is
done, what remains to US? II we reply
to it ever 50 respectfully it will be alleged
that we are try to damage your ad-
IiDisJ-2tiOn and hedge against you for q
second term. No matter how carefully
your letter is reviewed, it will
amount to the same. The cry will
be raised that we are trying to kill off
Ross, Selling thereby upon another catch
penny phrase, to mislead the people. 1t
may be that you have some enemies. 1t
IS hoped they will be silent as to your
course. But this letter is from your
friend; one who has been such for long
years; one who labUred hard both for
Jour nomination ana election, and who
TejOiCed in the privilege of voting for
you. But since you have elected TO enter
this controversy, it is held that your
utteTanCes become as much the legiti-
mate subject Of criticism as any other
mans. Because it is not right to speak
evil of dignities, to bring any railing
accusation against them, or to reprOach
the ruler OF the people, this reply
will, at present, ignore the Gov
eTnOr and consider your letter
only from the standpoint of a
campaign document, circulated by the
hguO~ men. As such a document, con-
sidered as an impersonal and anonymous
communication, you will excuse me for
saying that it would not attain much Cir
culatIon. l mean to say that if il had
been picked up in the road, undated and
unsigned, but little money would have
been wasted in its circulation. Placed
side by side in this respect with HerTick
Johnson's reply to Howard Crosby, in
VIII, the right ground, object and mo-
tive Of prohibition are exhibited, your
document would suffer much by the jux-
opposition
That paper Of Johnson's, undated
and unsigned, might have been
waited to Texas shores by random
winds or waves, and left discolOred on 8
lonely beach, but the first man that read
Il, whether untutOred or cultured, would
nave said: "This must not perish; it
must be published; the people must read
1t, il will live; it cannot die!"
But had yours so come, it is question
ao-e whether its intrinsic merit would
have saved it from a lasting silence on
the lonely shore. There, with the other
deoris, washed up by restless waves, it
would have persisted, q valueless wait
along with the PUPPY jelly-as around 1t.
But 70 the analysis: You plead the
pressure Of official duty as ar excuse for
not taking an active part in the popular
discussion. But you see no improperly
II using your pen. The people will hardly
recognize your distinctions Whatever i'm
pFopFlety attaches 10 one attaches to the
other. But you say there is no impro-
priety in telling how you Will vote when
questioned. But allow me to say that's
your communication does not stop at the
announcement of your vote. Two coT-
umns sre hardly necessary for such a
statement. You 20 far beyond
this and enter fully and square
y into the discussion of the
whole matter. Your right to enter this
teld is fully conceded by this scribe
Some people may, indeed, question the
pTOpTiety Of it, but as tastes differ, we let
thar pass. Omitting eny present refer
ence 10 your preliminary observations,
Your objections to the amendment, when
boiled down, are substantially these:
l. For fifty years Texas has prospered
without this amendment, therefore it is
unWise to adopt it.
,. There are shades of evil in the pic
ture of the fifty gears retrospect cast
by the abuses Of the liquor traffic, but
there are only such evils and imperfec-
tons as cling; 70 all the works of man,
therefore they ere remediIess by legisla-
ton. What Is crooked cannot be made
straight.
3. The laws, as they exist, are as COM
DnTapt RI x4aal NTH oh